Page 4 - ARUBA TODAY

A4 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 10 december 2019

Grandson of late President Bush runs for Congress in Texas

By PAUL J. WEBER trict," Pierce Bush said. peachment hearings un-
Associated Press At least one of of Bush's ri- folding against Trump in
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — vals in the race considered Congress were a distrac-
Pierce Bush, a grandson of him unwelcome. Greg tion and did not directly
former President George Hill, a former Border Patrol answer when asked wheth-
H.W. Bush, launched a agent who is also running er he believed Trump had
Texas congressional run on as a Republican, expressed done anything improper.
Monday and aligned him- respect for the Bush family "It's an attack-at-all-costs
self with President Donald in a statement but said he politics," Bush said of the
Trump, who his late grand- had "strong doubts about impeachment case. "It's a
father blasted as a "blow- any candidate who would part of the problem."
hard" and voted against in try to parachute into our The only Bush currently in
the 2016 campaign. district and buy this seat." public office, Texas Land
In an interview with The As- Pierce Bush's announce- Commissioner George P.
sociated Press, he pushed ment video, rolled out on Bush, broke with his family in
back on whether that sup- the deadline in Texas for 2016 and supported Trump
port was difficult to sum- candidates to get on the even after he mocked his
mon in the face of Trump's 2020 ballot, includes an im- father, former Florida Gov.
antagonism toward his fa- age of him speaking next to Jeb Bush, as "low energy"
mous family, which Trump a picture of his late grand- during the 2016 presidential
has mocked during his no- father. He says in the video campaign. During a visit
holds-barred takeover of that the nation is "on the to Texas earlier this year,
the GOP. brink of losing a generation Trump introduced George
"When you look at the al- to an idea that socialism P. Bush as "the only Bush
ternative first of all, how and free stuff are the an- that likes me."
can you be anything but a swers to their future." Olson is one of six House
supporter of the president's Pierce Bush, whose father Republicans in Texas retir-
policies?" Pierce Bush, 33, is Neil Bush, has spent the ing next year, and he might
told the AP. "I look forward past three years as chief ex- have faced a tougher re-
to being a partner in Wash- ecutive of the nonprofit Big election battle than any of
ington, and speaking of Brothers Big Sisters in Texas. them. Once a seat of GOP
course with my own voice, In this Thursday, Dec. 31, 2009 file photo, former United States He made no mention of power — former Republi-
but supporting the presi- President George H. W. Bush, right, leaves the field with the help Trump in his announce- can House Majority Leader
dent's agenda." of Pierce Bush, left, his grandson, before the Texas Bowl NCAA ment video and launched Tom DeLay held the office
George H.W. Bush, who college football game in Houston. his campaign website with before Olson — the district
died last year, voted for Associated Press only a short biography and is rapidly shifting amid de-
Democrat Hillary Clinton no positions on issues or pol- mographic changes and
in 2016. His son, President for either Trump or Clinton. This is about the families of icies. Democrats peeling off sub-
George W. Bush, didn't vote "This is not about my family. the 22nd Congressional Dis- Pierce Bush told AP the im- urban women voters. q
U.S. sanctions 2 Venezuelan officials for selling passports

LUIS ALONSO LUGO Dugarte Padron, on Inter- ment said that under Vizcai- thorized to talk to reporters, cial stressed that there is no
Associated Press national Anti-Corruption no's leadership, the iden- said the cooperation from evidence the two men des-
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Day. tification department sold members of Venezuela's ignated Monday provided
Trump administration im- Other entities in Cambo- Venezuelan passports to opposition-controlled Na- Hezbollah with Venezuelan
posed sanctions Monday dia, China, Latvia and Ser- non-Venezuelan citizens for tional Assembly allowed passports.
on both the former and bia were also designated thousands of dollars each. investigators to identify As a result of the U.S. ac-
the current director of the Monday. Vizcaino was director gen- bank accounts associated tion, any assets of the two
Venezuelan government's "Corruption deprives peo- eral of the office from April with Vizcaíno and Dugar- designated Venezuelan of-
office of identification, ac- ple of their countries' re- 2016 until June 2018, when te, both in Venezuela and ficials in U.S. territory will be
cusing them of receiving sources, basic essential ser- Dugarte replaced him. overseas. frozen.
kickbacks involving the sale vices, and economic op- A Treasury department of- The official said the sale of The U.S. has imposed sanc-
of passports. portunities, while it enriches ficial described the opera- passports to non-Venezue- tions on dozens of officials
The U.S. Treasury Depart- a select few and facilitates tion as a "large corruption lans is a matter of concern loyal to Venezuela's social-
ment's Office of Foreign As- environmental destruc- scheme" in which thousand because U.S. authorities ist president, Nicolas Madu-
sets Control made the des- tion, political instability, and of passports were sold. know members of the Is- ro, whose 2018 re-election
ignations on both Gustavo conflict," Treasury Secretary The official, who insisted on lamic militant group Hez- has been deemed fraudu-
Adolfo Vizcaíno Gil and his Steven T. Mnuchin said. not being quoted by name bollah possess Venezuelan lent by Washington and at
predecessor, Juan Carlos The designation announce- because they were not au- passports, though the offi- least 50 other countries.q